Safety leg support for vehicle servicing lifts



J. J. PELOUCH Aug. 26, 1952 SAFETY LEG SUPPORT FOR VEHICLE SERVICING LIFTS 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Filed May 29, 1950 INVENTOR.

JAMES .1. PEL OUGH El) I 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 BY JAMES PE'LOUGH 1952 J. J. PELOUCH SAFETY LEG SUPPORT FOR VEHICLE SERVICING LIFTS Filed May 29; 1950 Patented Aug. 26, 1952 SAFETY moxsurron'r Fon'vEmoLE isrzavromotmr'rs James J. Pelouch, Cleveland, :Ohlfl, 1as'signor,-l1y

iamesne assignments, to .Farm .Tools, 1110., :a. .cor-

vporation-vof Qhio AppIicatiQnIMay'ZQ, 1950, Serial No. 1645909 A Claims.

.Tiie invention relates to 'a safety leg support m vehicle servicing lifts, and 'more "particularly to a safety leglsupport of the latch type.

An objectof the inventionis the provision of summer fasafety "leg support which latch must bemanually operatedpreparatory to lowering the lift mechanism.

Another object of the invention is the provision of "means responsive to the upward movement of the lift totresto re the manuallyoperable means which governs the operation of the latch.

Another object of the invention 'is the provision of alatch -member-which must be manually operated to lowerthe lift mechanism and which is 'automatically restored to a latching position by the upward 'movement of the lift mechanism.

Other objects and a fuller understanding :of theiinventionmay befhadnbytreferring to the following description and claims, taken in conjunction with "the accompanying drawing, in-

Figure 2 is a plan view oiFigure Land shows principally the lifting structure for lifting a vehicle :for servicing;

L Figure 3 isa view'similar to 'Figure l, butshows the lifting ram and ,liftingstructure elevated to a; latching position of the safety leg support;

Figure A isan enlargedand fragmentary view of the top part of the safety leg support "and shows the manner in which it is connected to v (the lifting structure of the lift mechanism;

Figure 511s an enlarged and fragmentary view taken along the line 55 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is an enlarged and fragmentary view showing principally the latch member of the safety leg support, and shows the latch member in its unlatched position preparatory to lowering the lift mechanism Figure '7 is a view similar to Figure 6 but shows thelatch member in its latching position which prevents the lift mechanism from being lowered in the event .of the failure .of the fluid power source; b

t Figure .8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line .8- 8 of Figure 6;

Figure .9 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line -S-9 of Figure .6; and

V Figure 10 is a iragmentaryview similar :to the view in Figure 7; :Ebut shows the latch member en aging the top ledge :of the supportmember t 2 which represents the condition of latching engagement in the event of failure of the fluid power source which is employed to raise "and hold the lift to an elevated position.

Inthe drawings, the safety leg supportisillus trated in connectionwith an automotive lift :of a well known type. As illustrated principally :in Figures 1, 2 and 3, the lift mechanism comprises a cylinder Ill embedded in the ground. Mounted within the cylinder l (l isa :ram I I uporl'the upper end of which is mounted a liftingstructure Hffor supporting thevehicle which is being serviced. The lifting structure comprises not only the side members upon which the vehicleis mountedfout alsoa channel cross-plate 13 which is connected to the upper end of the ram ll. p

"The safetyleg is illustrated generally by the reference character I5 and comprises a support member I6 which is in the form ofa hollow pipe, and arod I! which slides up-and-down-within the pipe support'member H5. The pipe support member 16 is anchored to the side of the cylinder ill by means of anchoring supports ['8 which are in the form of brackets welded to the (cylinder I0 and to the pipe support member l6. Accordingly, the pipe support member I B is :ri'gidly anchoredto the side of the cylinder ID, The rod L1 may be hollow and its upper end is connected to the channel cross-plate l3 by "means of fasteningbrackets l9 and a cross pin '23. The brackets I19 may be connectedto thesi de edge of the channel cross-plate 13 by means of bolts 20. The fasteningbrackets 19 are provided with spaced flanges 2| having openings .22 therein which receive the cross pin 23. In actual practice, the cross .pin '23 is welded to the topisurface of a plate 24 Which plate is in turn welded to the top of the .rod J]. .The reference character 25 indicates the weld material for welding the cross pin 23 to the plate 24,.and the reference character 2.6 represents the weld .for welding the platel24 to the top of thelrod .l'l. IIheopenings 22 in the flange 21 .which receive the crosslpin 23 may be somewhat elongated :as shown-in Figure lso as to permit sa-small amount of :lateral movement during the elevation of the lifting structure in order to relieve the red I! and the P11 6 support member of excessive stress.

(As shown in Figures 6 and 7, the rod I! which is hollow isprovided with a side recess 29 which is constructed by milling a slot in the side lot latch member is pivotallvmountedaabout :a pivot 3 pin 33 and the lower end of the latch member is free to swing outwardly beyond the limit of the rod ll. The pivot pin 33 is carried by a fill plug 34 that fits inside of the hollow rod H. The fill plug 34 may be anchored to the inside of the hollow rod I! by means of a cross pin 35. To insure further safety, the fill plug 34 may also be welded to the hollow rod If at the places indicated by the reference character 36 as well as at other places which are accessible for welding. The lower end of the fill plug 34 is slotted to provide two legs 37 between which the upper end 3| of the latch member fits, and through which the pivot pin 33 extends. A spring 38 is employed to bias the latch member 35 outwardly beyond the limit of the rod I1.

The latch member 30 is actuated in opposition to the spring 38 by means of a handle 42 which is pivotally mounted upon a pivot pin 44 carried by a bracket 46 that is secured to the cylinder It bymeans of bolts 4!. As shown in Figures 6 and '7, an arm 43 extends laterally of the handle 42, which arm 43 is adapted to press against the latch member 313 against the opposition of the spring 38. The Figure '7 shows the latch member in its latching position which illustrates the safety position of the safety leg. Preparatory to lowering the ram 1 I, the operator must move the lever 42 to the position shown in Figure 6 and in this position the arm 43 presses against the side edge of the latch member 30 and presses it inwardly of the recess 29 in-the rod 11. With the latch member 30 pressedinwardly, the latch surface on the lower end thereof clears the ledge 52 on top of the pipe support member l6, and thus the safety leg permits the ram l I to be lowered. The latch member 35! slides within the hollow pipe support member l6 as the ram II is lowered. Upon raising the ram I l, the latch member 39 upon reaching the recess 29 snaps or swings outwardly against the end of the arm 23 and continued upper movement of the latch member 30 rotates the arm 43 counter-clockwise until the handle 42 passes bevond the vertical center of the pivot pin 44 and then the handle 42 continues to rotate further counter-clockwise until the rearward extension 46 hits the stop pin 45, which position is shown in Figure '7. The latch member 35 swings outwardly until the shoulder 50 on the lower end of the latch member engages the inside of the hollow rod l1. When the operator desires to lower the ram II he must operate the handle 42 in a clockwise direction until the arm 43 engages the top edge 4'! of the bracket 4!].

In operation, when the ram I! is elevated by hydraulic pressure to its uppermost position, the latch member 3|] does not actually engage the ledge 52 of the support member, which is the position shown in Figure '7. However, upon failure of the fluid power, and in the event that the ram l l starts to descend, then the latch member 30 will prevent the ram from lowering, since the latch surface 5| will engage the ledge 52 of the support member as shown in Figure 10.

7 Although the invention has been described in its preferred form with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred form has been made 'only by way of example and that numerous F changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

; What is claimed is: r

' 1R1- In a lifting mechanism comprising a ram and a lifting structure carried by said ram, a rod arranged at one side of said ram and connected with said ram for vertical movement therewith, a support member having a ledge mounted alongside of said rod, a latch member having first and second end portions, means for pivotally mounting said first end portion to said rod with said second end portion arranged to swing to a latching position in the path of the ledge of said support member, spring means for urging said second end portion toward said latching position, and a control lever pivotally mounted on said support member and movable to first and second operating positions, pivot means for said control lever, first stop means to arrest pivotal movement of said control lever in said first position, second stop means to arrest pivotal movement of said control lever in said second position, said control lever having arm means which in said second position reacts against said pivot means and extending there from towards said latch member in substantially a perpendicular direction thereto for pressing said latch member to an' unlatched position to clear the ledge of the support member and permit a downward movement of said latch member and rod relative to said ledge, said arm means remaining in said second position against the constraining .force of said spring means "urging said latch member thereagainst with substantially no torque transmitted to said control lever to return same to said first position, said latch member during upward movement of said rod engaging said arm means and returning the control lever to said first position, said control lever remaining in said first position with the arm means clearing said latch member and permitting same to swing to a latching position to engage the ledge of the support member.

2. In a lifting mechanism comprising a ram and a lifting structure carried by said ram, a rod arranged at one side of said ram and connected with said ram for vertical movement therewith, a support member comprising a hollow member surrounding said rod and having a ledge mounted alongside of said rod, said rod having a recess provided therein, a latch member having first and second end portions, means for pivotally mount ing said first end portion to said rod in said recess with said second end portion arranged to swing outwardly of said recess to a latching position beyond the limits of said rod in the path of the ledge of said support member, spring means for urging said second end portion outwardly of said recess toward said latching position, and a control lever pivotally mounted on said support member and movable to first and second operating positions, pivot means for said control lever, first stop means to arrest pivotal movement of said control lever in said first position, second stop means to arrest pivotal movement of said control lever in said second position, said control lever having arm means which in said second position reacts against said pivot means and extends therefrom towards'said latch member in substantially a perpendicular direction thereto for pressing said latch member inwardly of said recess to an unlatched position to clear the ledge of the support member and permit a downward movement'of said latch member and rod relative to said ledge, said arm means remaining in said second'position against the constraining force of said spring means urging said latch member therea'gainst with substantially no torque transmitted to said control lever to return same to said first position,

said latch member during upward movement of said rod engaging said arm means and returning the control lever to said first position, said control lever remaining in said first position with the arm means clearing said latch member and permitting same to swing outwardly of said recess to a latching position to engage the ledge of the support member.

3. In a lifting mechanism comprising a ram and a lifting structure carried by said ram, a rod arranged at one side of said ram and connected with said ram for vertical movement therewith, a support member having a ledge mounted alongside of said rod, a latch member pivotally mounted to said rod and arranged to swing to a latching position in the path of the ledge of said support member, spring means for urging said latch member toward said latching position, and a control lever pivotally mounted on said support member and movable to first and second operating positions, pivot means for said control lever, first stop means to arrest pivotal movement of said control lever in said first position, second stop means to arrest pivotal movement of said control lever in said second position, said control lever having pressing means which in said second position reacts against said pivot means and extends therefrom towards said latch member in substantially a perpendicular direction thereto for pressing said latch member to an unlatched position to clear the ledge of the support member and permit a downward movement of said latch member and rod relative to said ledge, said pressing means remaining in said second position against the constraining force of said spring means urging said latch member thereagainst with substantially no torque transmitted to said control lever to return same to said first position, said latch member during upward movement of said rod engaging said pressing means and returning the control lever to said first position, said control lever remaining in said first position with the pressing means clearing said latch member and permitting same to swing to a latching position to engage the ledge of the support member.

4. In a lifting mechanism comprising a ram and a lifting structure carried by said ram, a rod arranged at one side of said ram and connected with said ram for vertical movement therewith, a support member having a ledge mounted alongside of said rod, a latch member pivotally mounted to said rod and arranged to swing to a latching position in the path of the ledge of said support member, biasing means for urging said latch member toward said latching position, and a control lever pivotally mounted on said support member and movable to first and second operating positions, pivot means for said control lever, first stop means to arrest pivotal movement of said control lever in said second position, said control lever having pressing means which in said second position reacts against said pivot means and extends therefrom towards said latch member in substantially a perpendicular direction thereto for pressing said latch member to an unlatchedposition to clear the ledge of the support member and permit a downward movement of said latch member and rod relative to said ledge, said pressing means remaining in said second position against the constraining force of said spring means urging said latch member thereagainst with substantially no torque transmitted to said control lever to return same to said first position, said latch member and said pressing means having frictional engagement during the upward movement of sai-d'rod to return the control lever to said first position, said control lever remaining in said first position with the pressing means clearing said latch member and permitting same to swing outwardly of said recess to a latching position to engage the ledge of the support member.

' JAMES J. PELOUCI-I.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,587,497 Ando June 8, 1926 1,763,638 Bonner June 17, 1930 1,973,803 Frauen Sept. 18, 1934 1,993,447 Hott Mar. 5, 1935 2,140,264 Kingham Dec. 13, 1938 

